In this month’s “Meet Your Merchant” spotlight, we’re excited to feature Loni Willoughby, owner of Gilded Lily Beauty Bar in Champaign’s Midtown district. With decades of experience in hair, makeup, and editorial fashion, Loni specializes in French method haircuts, custom luxury hair extensions, and hair color, creating effortless, natural looks. Inspired by her late mother’s words, “don’t gild the lily,” she believes in enhancing beauty rather than overdoing it. Her boutique salon offers a private, personalized experience, including brow treatments, special occasion makeup, and soon, microblading and permanent makeup. Nestled in a historic peachy-pink space, Gilded Lily Beauty Bar continues to bring creativity, confidence, and expert styling to the Champaign community. Read on to learn more about Loni’s journey and vision for the future.
What inspired you to open Gilded Lily Beauty Bar, and what makes it unique to the Champaign beauty scene?
This is my third salon. I owned and operated one previously in Illinois and also one in Iowa. I returned to the area from Chicago, where I still do hair and makeup for advertising, commercials, video and print. I come well-equipped with loads of training and experience in this industry.
Gilded Lily is currently a one-person operation. I’m Loni Willoughby (Loni Hale on all of my social media). The name of my business, Gilded Lily Beauty Bar, is fully inspired by my late mother. My mother needed some help during a health crisis. I had the most flexible schedule of my siblings and could schedule my work around her. When I was doing crazy things with my hair in the mid-nineties, my mother would tell me “don’t gild the lily,” ha! I always understood the meaning of that was to “unnecessarily adorn something already beautiful.” My clients are beautiful in their own right, and anything that I do for them cosmetically is mere enhancement.
I should also mention: my husband, Shane, has inspired me to start my business in Champaign. We purchased the real estate together. He was established here – and marrying him has kept me here.
What services do you specialize in, and what can clients expect from their experience at your salon?
Gilded Lily Beauty Bar is truly a boutique setting. It’s private and relaxing. I’ve admired this space since I was literally a teenager. Ken Gaines established this iconic location forty years ago at 305 S. 1st St., right smack in the middle of Midtown, between Downtown and edge of Campus. The stand-out, peachy-pink color of the charming house is notable, and it’s totally on-brand for my business. Because it is a cute, little, postage-stamp location, nestled right between multiple four-story student housing buildings, my services are limited and specialized.
I offer French method haircuts that are seamless and never choppy. With my fine arts and painting background, hair color is my specialty. I literally color my cuts. Balayage and beautiful low-maintenance, easy-grow-out methods are my favorite hair colors. I always have a pulse on the fashion forecast for seasonal hair colors, with my editorial fashion background. Additionally, I offer fully-customized, luxury hair extensions – I hand-blend and re-tip many of my keratin clients with hair personally chosen by me from sources in Russia and Vietnam. I like to try to keep clients in hair that they invest in for up to a year. Also, I’m obsessed with brows! Tinting, lamination, and I will be microblading and offering permanent makeup again very soon. I have an extensive background in providing makeup for all skin tones in the advertising world. So, I do offer special occasion makeup and hairstyling for photoshoots, headshots, weddings, and formals all by appointment.
How do you see beauty and self-care playing a role in building confidence and community?
It’s incredibly important for someone to have the skills to be able to make themselves feel confident and to better understand what is flattering for them. It’s also invaluable for my clients to understand the tools and products to help them reproduce whatever I do for them in the salon. Teaching them doesn’t take much effort on my part during their appointments. It can make a big impact on the confidence that they feel leaving their visits with me.
Every day doesn’t have to be a full-tilt beauty day. It’s important for clients to be able to get themselves ready (long after their visits with me) for whatever comes their way, whether that be for an everyday work look, date nights, or special occasions. I do offer blowouts and styling when there is a need for lasting and consistent results.
What has been the most rewarding part of running your business in Champaign's Midtown District?
Location location location! I couldn’t be in a better location and I do offer free parking! When I was looking for property in the Champaign area, I couldn’t pass on an already existing legacy hair salon. I enjoy seeing pedestrian traffic and the energy of the space is really special.
What's next for Gilded Lily Beauty Bar, and how can the community continue to support your growth?
As I mentioned, I am currently getting the location licensed for microblading, and I will be looking to rent a chair to a full-time stylist to join me starting in June. I’m hoping I find a really great fit – someone that wants to have their own business in a fun, vibrant location. And hopefully someone who would enjoy catering to college students! I started my career working on Campus, and it was the best beginning I could have asked for. It’s great experience for a stylist to work with students with diverse hair textures and colors. And they certainly do a wonderful job of referring their friends!
